Always
by nevthemighty
Summary: Rick and Kim share their story about how they fell in love and how kim saved him. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1: THE BEGINNING

**this is from Rick, Kim pov, they are being questions about the experience.**

**Disclaimer: i don't own any of the characters mentioned.**

Rick's pov.

Gaines walked into my room, it wasn't really a room though, more of a shed. He didn't treat me like the others, he treated me like he treated Kim and very soon like he would treat her mother. The only difference was that I was allowed to walk about, to go outside, breath fresh air. "Kim's mum is here, and you are going to keep watch of them. Eli said that you and Kim have grown quite close and well it only seemed natural" Gaines had a smile on his face. The kind of smile that you would only see on the face of a psychopath. He was going to carry on when he saw Eli looking through the window of the barn, "you're going to look after them, you see, Eli is a bit frustrated, if you know what I mean. I can't have him ruining little Kimmy can I, who knows what her dad would do, to you, to me. So you're going to keep them safe". He was out the door in a second and had Eli at gunpoint. They both backed away and were gone. I gathered my things up, and by things I mean my shirt and the food that I had been given earlier on to give to Kim. I always made sure that she had the best food, I took the scraps that were supposed to be for her, and gave her my food. It was the least I could do, besides if it weren't for me she wouldn't have been here in this situation.

Kim's pov.

It had been awhile since I had seen Rick, it would have been nice to have some company. I knew they were bringing in someone new though, I heard Eli talking about it with Gaines outside of the window, just before that Gaines had come out of Rick's room. I wonder what they were talking about. "Kim...Kim!", I knew the voice, it was my mothers. Eli walked in with her, he held her wrist tightly in his hand, she had a bag over her head. He lifted the bag, and she smiled when she saw me. It was more relief than genuine happiness. Eli lingered for a bit, but Rick came through the door with five brown paper bags and four bottles of water. He turned to Eli and said "I've got it from here, thanks", Eli turned around, he was much taller than Rick, stronger too, but he just left. I was about to walk over to him, Rick, when my mum started to ask all of theses questions. She slapped him twice and then backed away.

Rick's pov.

Yeah, I went into the barn, and saw Eli there, I remembered what Gaines had said and tried to get him out. It was easier than I expected, I think he was as scared of Gaines as I was. I had five bags of food and four waters. When Eli was gone, Kim's mother walked over to me and started asking me these questions, like "why would you put my daughter through this", "if it weren't for you than she woul dbe at home now safe". I took it all, I didn't react, I knew how reacting would make me seem to Teri, her mum, even when she slapped me, I didn't react. The only thing that was important to me was that Kim felt safe around me, that's all I cared about. Teri, backed off though, after slapping me, she must of seen the gun. I had no intention to use it, but i was sort of glad that she saw it.

Kim's pov.

Rick was quiet after that, he didn't speak to me or my mum, I mean, I understood why he wouldn't speak to my mum but he had been my only friend here and it was kind of a blow. He handed us the bags and the bottles, the bags were full of food. Nice food, not the stuff we had been given before. That was when I realised that it had to be Rick'd food. He'd given me his food before, but this was on a new level. He must have known that my mum was coming because there was more than enough food for the both of us, in fact more. My mum ate it all, she didn't stop, I was a little more reserved about it though. I thought about if Rick he had had any food. He wasn't sitting near us, and I didn't want to get up to ask because my mum would probably get mad again. I'm not saying she got mad a lot, it was just stress, but I didn't want to put Rick through that again. She could be quite harsh when she wanted to be. It took awhile for us to finish eating, there was so much food. My mum did'nt say thankyou to Rick, I smiled gratefully, but he wasn't paying any attention. There was a window, the one that Eli and Gaines were outside of, when the sunshined it was quite beautiful. I mean out there, where we were staying. It sounds odd but it really isn't, I could see Rick looking out the window from the far side of the room. I knew he thought it was beautiful, the way he was smiling slightly. It really was beautiful, it really was.


	2. Chapter 2: IN THAT MOMENT

**And in that moment**

Kim's pov.

I stared out of the window for quite awhile, I did'nt even notice that it was getting dark outside. When I looked around I saw my mum and Rick arguing again. That's when I saw his gun, he was facing away from me and it was tucked into the back of his trousers. The whole time he never pulled it out, never threatened to shoot her, he just stood there and took it. It was funny because that was the first time he looked at me and I saw that he felt the same way.

Rick's pov.

I watched Kim for awhile, she was looking out the window, it was oddly quite beautiful when the light hit it, outside I mean. Her mother, Teri, noticed that I was watching her and started get angry. She said that it was highly inappropriate to be looking at her daughter the way I was looking at her. I understood why she was saying it, and I completely agreed, but I could'nt do anything about the way I felt. Kim finally turned around, she wasn't paying much attention to what was being said. I have to admit neither was I at that moment. She looked beautiful, the sun was setting in the background and the orangy yellow sky made her look perfect. The kind of perfect you only see with air brushed models or actresses, I think she could tell, you know, how I was feeling. I literally thought that my heart was going to beat out of my chest.

Kim's pov.

Well... In that moment I was scared, if he wanted to, I knew he could shoot us. My dad wouldn't have known any different, I mean, Gaines could have just pretended that we were alive. There was something about the way he looked at me though, like he wouldn't hurt us, wouldn't hurt me. I looked out of the window again, I saw Eli going into Rick's room. He came out a small object and a bloody towel, he caught me watching and gave me a funny smile. I watched him walk up to the barn and waited until I could hear his heavy footsteps. He was taking longer than normal, the only reason I could come up with was that he didn't know whether he should come in or not. I figured that he was scared of Gaines and that was why he was taking his time. At this point I was watching the door, waiting, Rick must have noticed because he moved away from my mother and went to the door. That was when Eli walked in, he pulled Rick outside, there was shouting but I couldn't tell exactly what was being said. Rick walked back in, his nose was bleeding and he had a cut that was on his forehead, and he was carrying a pocket knife.

Rick's pov.

I noticed that Kim was looking at the door and went to go and check what it was that had spooked her, her eyes were wide and she had gone pale. I moved away from Teri and towards the door, she wasn't to pleased, but I had to. If it was Eli, then she had a right to be freaked out, I would be too, and I hadn't been to see Kim in awhile and who knows what he had done to her. As I got closer to the door I could hear heavy footsteps, I knew what was coming but I didn't realise the sheer force that was used. Eli burst into the room and dragged me outside, he had my pocket knife and a towel that ws covered in blood. I could tell he was yelling but during the little event ealier, my ears where ringing. I couldn't hear a thing, he shoved the knife in my hand and walked away. My hearing started to come back, I could hear him laughing, it wasn't quiet either, it was a loud bellowing laugh. When I walked back inside I could see the way Kim was looking at me, her eyes drifted from the pocket knife, to my face, I could tell I didn't look to good, and then back to the pocket knife. She looked worried, Teri looked as though she wished that she had done it to me. I walked across the room and sat down. Kims mother said that 'it was time to go to sleep', Teri and Kim lay down, and I turned off the light. We weren't in complete darkness, there was a light shining through the window, and Kim looked perfect in it. There was a sort of innocence that i had never seen in her before.

Kim's pov.

I mean, I was worried about him but, my mother is, was my mother, so I did what she said. It was hard to sleep in that barn. I guess that was the point though, I woke up half way through the night. Rick waqs watching me, at the time I thought it was me and my mother, but he wasn't. He probably would have watched us both if my mother wasn't being so rude all the time. It took awhile for his gaze to leave my eyes. It sounds weird but there was a kind of longing in them, like he needed me, really needed me. The kind of look you see when someones in pain; he looked like he was only holding on for me and i was grateful.

Rick's pov.

I saw Kim wake up, her eyes slowly opened, but she looked worried. I wanted to go over to her and say something, but I figured her mother wouldn't like that, so we just looked at each other for awhile. It was those moments that made me feel the most remorseful for what I had done. No one should have to wake up and fear for their life, no one.


	3. Chapter 3: SORRY

****trigger warning, mentions self harm****

**Pocket knife**

Rick's pov.

I had the blade, it was in my hand the whole time and I never noticed. It must have became a habit, a reflex, I never even had to think about it anymore, the solution would always be there. A darkness clouded over me, there was nothing, I looked over to Kim one last time before picking up the pocket knife. There was a weight behind everything that I did for those few minutes. It was like I couldn't move my arms or hands, I was numb, but the need to feel was overpowering. When I had the pocket knife in my hand I opened it. As the blade hit my skin I felt releaved, the warmth of the blood, the instant release of pent up feelings. I looked over to Kim, she was still looking at me. I needed this feeling more than I needed Kim or her mother to like me so I carried on. The blade leaving a bloody trail over my wrists.

Kim's pov.

Something changed, as I watched him he went from looking tortured to relief. I wondered what had changed. My mum shifted beside me but my eyes never left his, though his left mine. He looked down for a long time, I thought maybe he was trying to get to sleep, but then I noticed him roll down his sleeve. I had no idea what he had done, but I was worried, so I sat up slowly making sure not to nudge my mother. It was then that I saw the knife, the light coming in through the window was reflecting off of it. The knife was covered in blood, I lost my breathe when I saw it. I got up carefully and started to walk over to Rick.

Rick's pov.

Kim's face went white, she looked scared, not for herself though, for me. I knew she had seen the knife, but I had cut so much I couldn't move it, my arms were numb. She got up and walked over to me. I tried so hard to move my arms, all I had to do was hide the pocket knife, or at least clean it. By the time I started to make progress she was already sitting beside me. This was a conversation I really didn't want to have, especially not with her.

Kim's pov.

I didn't know what I was going to say when I sat down next to him, it's funny because I thought I had it all figured out. One thing I did notice was that he looked worried and the knife was no longer on the floor but in his hands. I sat down opposite him, despite the worry on his face his eyes were empty. There was nothing I could say, the damage was done, but I had to try something, so I gently took the knife out of his hands. He tensed at the touch of my hands, I could see tears well up in his eyes. I moved my hands cautiously to his sleeve, he pulled back, I stopped, my hands shaking as much as his.

Rick's pov.

I really didn't want her to come close to the cuts, it was bad enough that she was sitting there in front of me. She whispered 'it's okay, you're alright'. My body relaxed, I couldn't keep it up, I was exhausted. Her hands edged closer, but I didn't have the strength to stop her this time. When she touched the bottom of the sleeve it was wet with blood. She didn't stop or pull away though, she then moved her hands to the bottom of my shirt and gently began to take it off. I winced when the fabric got caught on the old scabs, but a wince was all I could muster, there was no sound. When Kim finished taking off my shirt her eyes wondered over all of the scars. At that point I couldn't stop the tears from falling, I whispered over and over again that I was sorry.

Kim's pov.

There were so many scars, I couldn't help but look. He said that he was sorry, and it broke my heart, I could feel his helplessness. I shuffled closer, not caring whether my mother woke up this time, I put my hand gently on his cheek. I told him everything was going to be okay, but he just shook his head. I moved closer again, he leaned into me resting his forehead on my shoulder. He held his arms close to his chest. We sat like that for awhile, until he lifted his head and had stopped crying. He placed his hands on my lap and I began to observe the most recent cuts. They weren't deep, but there were a lot of them. I couldn't imagine what he must have been feeling, or how long he had felt this way, but I did know that my mum couldn't find out, she wouldn't have taken kindly to Rick being the victim.


End file.
